Voice message services are today being implemented to operate with many communication systems. A voice message call is originated by a caller who specifies the recipient's telephone number, records the voice message and specifies the delivery time of the message. Typically, voice message services precede the playback of the recorded voice message to the recipient with a system message announcing the arrival of the voice message.
While most voice message calls involve domestic callers and recipients, it is contemplated that international voice message calls will also represent a significant market. A problem arises when a voice message service is located in a country which uses a language which is different from the language of the message recipient's country. This may occur, for example, when a caller using a voice message service based in the United States of America wants to leave a voice message in Spanish to a Spanish speaking party in Spain. In that situation, the prior art voice message service would precede the Spanish message with an English announcement, e.g., "you have received a message from . . .". Unfortunately, the Spanish party who answers the call may not speak English and, consequently, may hang up when they hear the English announcement without ever hearing the caller's Spanish voice message.